Minnesota-Crookston Drops Hockey Despite Expensive New Arena

School districts across the country are facing difficult decisions as a result of the economic times we are living in. Also feeling the pinch are colleges and universities, where public funding is beginning to dry up. States simply have to cut money from somewhere, and the schools have to find ways to adjust their budgets accordingly.

In Minnesota, the budget issues are no secret to anyone. A multi-billion dollar deficit is facing the state, and the pain is being felt everywhere. At the University of Minnesota-Crookston, economic issues are forcing sad but necessary changes.

Even though they recently broke ground on a new, $14.5 million facility that was to house, among other things, UM-Crookston's men's hockey program, the school has decided to do away with the sport.

"We exhausted every possible option before taking this step," said Stephanie Helgeson, director of athletics. "We certainly don't take this lightly, but the reality of the economics of the state of Minnesota, the need to manage our University resources effectively, and the increasing challenges of fielding an NCAA independent hockey schedule with no post-season have led us to this difficult decision."

As for the new arena, it will open as planned, with the university agreeing to stick with the financial commitment it made to the city. They'll work on ways to open the complex up to students and the campus at large, though it still won't have the activity it would have seen with a hockey program residing there. That the school would be willing to pay for the pricey arena without placing a team there shows what kind of dire straits the school is in.

The Grand Forks (N.D.) Herald notes UMC, a Division II school, tried to join a new conference after the Midwest Collegiate Hockey Association announced they were going to a full Division III membership, but efforts were not successful.

The program didn't help itself with poor performances on the ice. After a respectable 14-15-2 record in 2004-2005, the Golden Eagles won just 25 games over their final four seasons. The program's short history was capped by a 6-22 season in 2008-2009. They averaged just 189 fans per game this past season, hardly enough to keep paying the bills.

The university's decision comes a bit more than two years after the decision was made to make a bigger commitment to the UMC athletic program. When that move was announced, officials were clear that they were going to work hard in an effort to save the hockey program.

Now, facing serious budgetary issues, getting rid of an underperforming sports team that lacks a conference affiliation and doesn't really have much of a chance of being competitive makes a ton of sense.